No Trust
by SoundGeare
Summary: When Quote runs away from his fellow robots during a Mimiga attack, he is immediately considered a threat to all robots. He knows he can't trust anyone... That is, until he meets a mysterious blonde robot... Takes place when the robots began their attack on the island many years before the plot of Cave Story begins... Cowritten with LunaratheAra. Originally written 2012-2013.
1. Chapter 1

This story was a collaborative project with LunaratheAra, who no longer exists on this website. This story was posted on Lunara's page originally, but all of those stories have been taken down. Luckily, I still have copies of the files we traded back and forth while writing it. I don't know how long this story has been off the web, but this time it is sure to stay for good.

I wrote chapters 1, 3, 5, and 6. Lunara wrote the other two.

Sadly, I don't have the chapter titles so there is no recovering those.

* * *

A mass of robots flew through the air. Some glistened in the morning light. Some were painted dull black and held the appearance of monstrous beetles. Each of them was armed with a weapon of some kind. Some held might energy cannons while the smaller robots carried retro style lead propelling weapons or even high energy melee weapons that resembled cattle prods.

All of the robots shared a common trajectory. That floating island high up in the sky. It was immense and as they neared it seemed to grow even larger. It was composed of stone, soil, carious metals, and some type of powerful energy concealed deep within.

Among the robots there was one with a separate purpose. Though he was just a robot, an android more precisely, his name was Quote. That was what he called himself, though he had no idea why. In his hand he carried an L.P. (lead propelling) weapon, a machine gun. Unlike his companions, he was built and dressed to resemble a human. He had a radio headset attached to his head, though it was tuned to a different frequency than the other robot's radios.

That was because he took his instructions from another source.

Even as Quote watched, the island grew nearer and nearer until it was nearly upon him. Quote's feet touched down on the white stone of the island's surface.

The robots (including Quote) began to file into a dimly lit cave almost immediately. They set up some sentries to guard their back, then continued through to the end of the tunnel.

It let out into a large cavern with hanging torches and many other sources of light. The dusky smell of soil and mud wafted up from below. A quick downward glance revealed about two dozen small creatures with large floppy ears. They were cultivating a crop of multi-colored flowers.

* * *

Far below, the Mimiga worked the subterranean fields completely unaware of the battalion waiting above.

They were harvesting what flowers were ready for consumption. They also weeded and watered the gardens.

Most of the Mimiga who worked the fields were fully grown, hardworking Mimigas. However, a few of them were young troublemakers who had been assigned the tough work as a punishment.

One of them was named Arthur.

Arthur had been caught in the middle of a prank along with his friend King. That wasn't really his name, but he wanted everyone to think it was.

So now they were stuck working in the fields.

Again

Arthur leaned against his harvesting basket and let out a tired sigh.

"Just a couple more hours of this…" He muttered.

"Yeah…" King sullenly agreed.

After just a moment's rest, Arthur got back to work and was soon engrossed in the constant rhythm of harvesting.

Suddenly there was a crackling explosion and Arthur heard a scream from not too far away from him. He turned to see that several large craters had opened up and the other Mimigas were scattering. A few were on the ground with singed fur, struggling to regain their footing with terrified expressions on their faces.

A few weren't moving at all.

As Arthur watched, half a dozen metallic creatures floated down from above and took their places around the craters. Several of them began to fire humming bolts of light around the room.

His heart pounding in his ears, Arthur spun around and started to run. He saw that King seemed frozen in place. Staring at the silvery creatures. Grabbing the Mimiga by his shoulder, Arthur dragged King along with him and into an adjacent tunnel.

They had to warn the others back at the village somehow.

They had to do something.

* * *

Quote watched in horror as the other robots opened fire on the creatures. They weren't even fighting back, just running away and trying to escape into the tunnels.

Trying to turn away from the carnage, Quote saw a robot pinning down one of the creatures and about to kill it at point blank range.

Acting on instinct, Quote tackled the robot and saved the creature's life. From the corner of his eye Quote saw it scurry away from the robots and into a nearby cave.

"Malfunction!" The downed robot blared, "Internal aggression detected!"

The much larger robot easily pushed Quote away and turned its gun on him. Within seconds, Quote found himself staring down the barrel of a high powered energy rifle.

Quote dropped to his knees and rolled away from the robot. As he scrambled for the safety of the tunnels, Quote heard the gun go off behind him. Several nearby robots had noticed the brief struggle and were turning their fire on him. Quote sprinted toward the tunnel mouth and dove inside just as the air behind him filled with humming plasma and white hot lead.

* * *

It had been a couple hours since he first landed on the island.

Quote was wandering aimlessly through the labyrinthine system of tunnels. Long ago he had tuned on the electric lamp that was mounted on the barrel of his gun. Now he was seeing by a thin ray of light.

The sound of his radio crackling to life startled Quote.

"Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Where are you? My sensors show you've left the group."

"We found some creatures. Harmless ones. They were tending some kind of garden when we found them. The other robots just opened fire on them. Killed or wounded most of them…"Quote trailed off.

"I know. That's what they were sent to do. Well, part of it. I guess it's too late now for undercover work, but at least you have compassion. That's what I built you for."

"Undercover? What do you mean? What did you send me here to do?"

"I can't tell you now. I'm sorry I mentioned it. When I'm able to I will, but until then just remember this. You can't trust any of them. By now they've labeled you as defective. They'll be out to deactivate or destroy you, and if that happens it's all over. I'll try and contact you an hour from now. Stay safe until then."

The voice cut out with a burst of static and Quote found himself alone again. Around him the darkness seemed more menacing. His breath echoed off the walls and resounded though the tunnel.

Quote wasn't sure what to do. Maybe he should just stay where he was and wait.

So that was what he did. Closing his eyes, Quote transitioned into a sleeping state while holding his gun tightly.

The scenes of slaughter replayed in his mind. The white fur that had been scorched black and stained red. The terrible cries of fear and pain that had echoed over and over inside his ears. The face of that one creature as it watched the gun held close to its face.

Quote hoped that the creature had been able to escape and was safe now.

Quote's eyes snapped open suddenly as he heard footsteps coming from somewhere close at hand.

Moving slowly to his feet, Quote lifted his gun and switched off the lamp. It took a minute for his night vision to fully activate, but soon he could see in shades of grey and blue.

After a few more moments he saw the beam of a flashlight, then an approaching robot. The robot seemed oblivious to Quote's presence.

Waiting until the robot was about to pass him, Quote leapt from the shadows and knocked the newcomer to the ground.

The robot groaned in pain for a moment then started to fight back.

It was useless though, because Quote immediately swung his machine gun around and pointed it directly into the robot's face. He clicked on the light.

Looking down into the robot's squinting eyes, Quote saw that it was built and dressed to resemble a human girl.

Quote turned the light away from her eyes and growled. "I know what you're doing, what you want. Just leave me alone."

Her eyes seemed to grow wider with shock for a moment and she said, "Aren't you that robot that malfunctioned during the attack?"

She knew it was him. She was going to try and kill him.

Quote didn't want to kill her, but it seemed unavoidable.

He started to swing his gun back toward her but she was too fast. She threw an arm up and caught the gun, then launched the other hand out in the form of a fist.

It caught Quote in the chin and knocked him off balance. She threw an elbow at him and he fell to the floor.

His gun went skidding across the floor and out of reach.

As Quote reached for his gun, he heard her mutter, "Crazy robots… Damn them."

When Quote stood and turned around, fully armed, she had disappeared.

As if she had never been there in the first place, but Quote had the bruises to prove it.


	2. Chapter 2

"What... what was that?!" King panted as he hid alongside Arthur behind a wall. He seemed to have recovered from the shock, and was sitting on the ground. The sounds had long since faded, and there was an eerie silence. The only sound was the water dripping from the caves up ahead.

"...I don't know..." Arther replied, looking ahead. They had to get to the village, before the robots attacked again! "But we have to get out of here and warn the village!" He helped King up. "Come on!" He walked forward, looking behind him to make sure his friend was following.

When they had returned to the Mimiga Village, they were met by a little girl Mimiga

"Arthur!" She squeaked; raising her front paws.

Arthur picked up the young girl. "Hey, Toroko!" He smiled; even though the situation was dire. "I'm busy right now, little sister. I have to find help."

"Really?" Toroko's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Why?"

"It's... not very pleasant." He put Toroko down gently. He shifted his blue gaze around the village. "You're too young." He started to walk toward an elderly Mimiga. "Come on, King."

King nodded, still wary of the past events and cautiously slowly picked his way toward Arthur.

* * *

Quote sat there, watching as the blonde robot walked away. He looked at the ground, and picked up his gun. It was dented a bit, and laced with scratches.

With a sigh, he stuck the gun in his belt and leaned back against the rocks. He was curious as to why that other robot had been separated from the group as well. She also represented a human... like him, and unlike the others.

That man had told me that I was made to look different from the others. He thought. Perhaps I should ask...

Just as he was about to, however, a burst of static rung in his ears and he heard the voice once more.

"Hello, are you there?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I picked up a conflict between you and another robot. Are you alright?"

Quote nodded. "Yes. A bit bruised, but I'll be fine." He looked down at his arms, which were dotted with bruises; big and small. That robot sure left a mark on him, that was for sure...

"That's good to hear." A moment of silence occurred before the voice came back on. "Now, I have some work to do. I'll ask you for a status report within three days, if you will."

"Of course."

"Alright, then. Good luck." With that, the communication was cut, and Quote was in silence once more.

* * *

"Huh? King? Arthur, what are you doing here? I specifically told you-"

"Cut it, Spade." Arthur interrupted. "The plantation was attacked, most of the Mimiga were killed."

Spade, a white Mimiga with black ear-tips stared at them; dumbfounded, before he laughed. "You'd think that you'd grow up and quit telling fables, Arthur."

"But it's true!" King protested.

"Do you have any proof?"

As if on cue, a young, injured Mimiga dashed into the town entrance, fur stained with blood and ash. "S-Spade!" He panted. Everyone who was in the area stopped and stared in shock at the little Mimiga. His blood was running down his belly, and he was breathing laboriously. "T-the plantation... big monsters... killed most of us..." With that, he collapsed.

Spade stared at the young Mimiga, then Arthur; his eyes were fogged up in shock. "You weren't kidding..."

"Of course, not!" Arthur glared at the elderly Mimiga. "You think I would joke around about something as horrible as... that?!"

Spade sighed. "You have a point." He looked up at the two. "King, you go help that Mimiga over there. " He pointed at the injured Mimiga. 'Arthur, bring me to the plantation."

"What?!" Arthur stared at Spade; his mouth agape. "Are you crazy?! You'll get yourself killed!"

"I know, Arthur... I know." He stared at Arthur, his eyes filled with emotion and memories. "I am going to find out what these... things you speak of are planning to do." His expression hardened. "Whether it kills me or not."

Arthur looked down at his feet. The panicked murmurs and cries from the villagers rung in his ears. He clenched his fist.

"Alright."

Spade nodded. "If I don't make it back alive, you must take charge of Mimiga Village."

"What?!" Arthur gaped at the black and white Mimiga. "I'm not nearly good enough-"

"You are a wise, carefree man, Arthur. You must use your advantages to help us all survive."

"But... but-"

"But nothing." Spade made his way toward the cavern that led to the Plantation. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Arthur hesitated. He was afraid of what was about to happen, but he then nodded and followed Spade through the cavern toward the plantation.


	3. Chapter 3

A lone robot wandered the floating island's massive tunnel system.

Her name was Curly Brace.

Holding her machine gun readily in her hands, Curly scanned the tunnel ahead of her for signs of movement.

Nothing, that was good. It meant she was alone. And alone meant she was safe.

Seeing by the dim light that seemed to exude from the stone around her, Curly crept toward the next junction. Staying close to the wall, she inched her way around the corner,

At first she didn't see anything, then suddenly a bright flash of light blinded her and sent Curly reeling backward.

Stumbling back the way she had come, Curly heard the ominous sounds of ironclad feet on stone.

Running as fast as she could, Curly slipped behind the next corner and readied her weapon.

Bullets began to bounce off of the stone walls and floor, leaving short-lived sparks in their wake.

Curly swung her machine gun around the corner and fired on the first robot she saw.

There must have been more than two dozen to choose from.

* * *

Quote followed the echoing sounds of gunfire.

But he wasn't sure why. What kind of idiot goes toward aggressive robots that have guns?

Apparently he did.

He could tell they were close, the sounds were almost deafening.

Any second now he would come across a bunch of angry robots that were ready to kill him. But he couldn't just let them massacre those creatures like they had before.

So that was why he headed toward the gunfire.

Quote almost ran past the robots and had to quickly jump back behind cover before they noticed him.

There were tons of them. All firing at the same thing.

But what was that thing?

From his position, Quote couldn't see their target, but whatever it was, it didn't stand a chance.

* * *

"We're almost there." Arthur said, "But what are you going to do once we get there?"

"Nothing drastic." Spade said.

Arthur was still unconvinced due to the sword hanging over Spade's shoulder.

"Then what are you gunna do with that?" He asked.

"Probably nothing, I brought it just as a last resort. In case they find us and we can't get away without a fight. I don't want to be empty handed in that circumstance."

Arthur grunted and nodded in understanding.

"How many were there?" Spade asked, "Did you get a good look?"

Arthur shook his head slowly, "Tons, so many of them that you couldn't look anywhere without seeing one. There were more robots than Mimiga in the plantation when I left, and I think there were still more coming."

Spade grunted.

Then he asked, "Did you see anything among them that looked different? Not shiny or metallic at all? More, pink? More alive looking?"

Arthur started to shake his head but stopped, "I did see one."

"What did he look like?"

"Uh, he had black hair and pale skin, and he was wearing black and red."

Spade nodded, "Anything else?"

But Spade didn't get a chance to know if there was anything else because at that moment several robots burst into the tunnel.

Gravel began to drop onto Arthur's head and as he looked up, a robot dropped from a newly opened hole in the ceiling.

Beside Arthur, Spade whipped out his sword and was lunging toward the nearest robot.

"Arthur!" He growled over the mechanized din, "Run Arthur!"

Arthur obeyed.

* * *

The robots were advancing on Curly and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

No matter how hard she fought, there were too many of them.

For every robot she destroyed, there was another to take its place. There was no way it could end.

There was no way it could end in Curly's favor.

If she tried to run, they would catch her in no time. If she tried to fight, they would overpower her.

What could she do?

The sound of bullets stopped.

Feeling confused, Curly risked a peek around the corner and saw that the tunnel was empty.

Where had they gone?

From somewhere else in the mass of tunnels, Curly heard a gun fire, then a voice scream, "Come and get me!"

* * *

Why did he have to yell that?

Because now they would probably come and get him. And he'd already seen enough of them to know that it wouldn't be pretty.

They would make scrap metal of him in short order.

So why had he done it?

Quote took every turn he could, hoping to somehow lose his pursuers in the tunnel system.

But no matter what he did, Quote still heard the thunderous sound of the robots dead on his track.

No way out, no escape, no fighting.

This would be the end of him, surely it would.

Just as Quote decided he had no chance of survival, the floor disappeared from under his feet and he found himself falling.

Falling

Falling

* * *

Arthur felt his heart pounding, threatening to break out of his chest.

Sweat poured down his face as he raced through the tunnels. For the second time today, Arthur had run into the robots and he hadn't been able to do anything but run away from them.

And this time he'd left Spade behind.

As much as the older Mimiga had always gotten on Arthur's nerves through punishments and lectures, Arthur didn't want him dead.

Arthur was so caught up in his inner turmoil that he didn't notice the incoming traffic until it was too late.  
Arthur ran headfirst into King, knocking him to the ground and falling down after him.

With a hand on his forehead to steady his dizziness, Arthur looked at the dozens of Mimiga floating before him.

Once his head stopped spinning, that number was reduced to three.

There was King who was on the ground beside him, trying to steady himself. Toroko was there too, her eyes were red and she was sniveling softly. Mahin was there too, his eyes darting back in forth frantically as if in search of something.

"Ugh," Arthur moaned, "What happened? Why are you all here?"

"The village," Mahin said quickly, "It was attacked by, by…"

"Monsters!" Toroko bawled.

"The robots got there and started tearing up the village. It's not as bad as the plantation though," King said, "Most of us got away into the tunnels. But we don't know where anyone else is. We were looking for you and… Where's Spade?"

"The robots ambushed us," Arthur said, climbing slowly to his feet, "We got separated. He's still there, I think."

Then after a moment's hesitation, he said, "We've got to go back for him."

"What are you crazy?" Mahin demanded, "We all know what'll happen if we run into those things."

"He's right." King said, "We can't just leave him there."

"He sounded like he knew something about this." Arthur said, "Maybe he knows how to beat them, or make them leave at least."

"Fine." Mahin said unhappily.

"If we run into the robots," Arthur said, "Mahin, I want you to take Toroko and get out of there. You go that?"

Mahin nodded.

"Now let's go."

* * *

The air was quiet and Curly was alone again.

She held her gun tightly, still anticipating a sudden attack any second.

Her tenseness was so great that, upon hearing a slight whimper from behind her, Curly accidentally squeezed the trigger and let loose a short burst of gunfire.

Immediately releasing the trigger, Curly spun around to see a pair of the small white creatures. They were pressing themselves against the tunnel wall as tightly as they could, hoping to become one with the wall and disappear.

As soon as Curly's eyes fell upon them, the smaller one let out a momentary shriek and began to shake violently.

Curly crouched down and held out her hand to the creature, "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not like the others."

Nonetheless, they both shut their eyes and cowered farther against the wall.

Curly sighed and stepped away from them. Why did she have to be associated with those heartless monsters. Going around killing everything they saw. It was disgusting.

Hearing the crunch of gravel, Curly spun around and saw one of the robots standing near the two creatures. It was holding a large rifle and aiming it directly at the pair.

Feeling an enraged growl escape her throat, Curly raised her gun and fired on the robot. First she shot its wrist, watching the bullets carve holes in the delicate circuitry. Then she fired on its chest.

After a moment she stepped forward and planted a steady kick on the robot's chest. It toppled over backward and fell to the floor with a metallic thud.

Still seeing red, Curly stepped onto the robot's chest and pointed her gun directly at its face. By the dull glow of its eyes, Curly could see it was still alive, if only faintly.

"How do you like it?" Curly growled as she pulled the trigger and watched the robots head shredded by the multitude of bullets.

Still panting from the experience, Curly felt something touching the back of her legs softly. Looking down she saw the pair of white creatures hiding behind her, using her legs to separate them from the other robot.

"It's okay," Curly said, "It's gone now."

* * *

Quote pulled himself from the river's heavy current and lay panting on the stony beach.

Lucky thing for him, if there hadn't been a river to catch him, Quote probably would've been destroyed by the fall. His boosters were merely tacky accessories now, since they had only carried enough fuel for the trip to the island.

Laying down on the riverbank, Quote lay his head down and rested for a moment.

As he lay there, the static of his radio burst to life and the man's voice began to speak.

"Hello. Quote are you there? Come in? Can you hear me?"

He sounded frantic, his voice tired and breathy.

"Yeah I'm here," Quote said, "What's up?"

He felt a little confused and surprised by the contact. It had only been hours since their last talk.

"They caught on. The others over here. They'll be here any minute so I don't have much time. I'm not going to be able to help you anymore, not for a while. Listen up, I need you to hear this, there's another robot on the island. Another one like you. I didn't know what would happen so I had to be safe. If you can find her, she can help you."

Footsteps could be heard in the background. Quote could hear the man fumbling with something before saying, "There's a man that will be arriving soon. His name is Miakid. You have to stop him. Even if it kills both of you, he can't get the crown. He can't have that kind of power. Kill him, destroy the crown. Whatever you can do, just don't let him have it. The whole word is depending on this."

The man stopped talking, but another voice could be heard over the radio.

"Doctor, we have orders to bring you to Miakid."

"I know, I know."

"You're going to have to come with us."

There was silence, then a faint rustling.

"You're not going to use that, are you?"

"Try me," The doctor said, "Now get out of my way."

"I'm sorry, but we have orders."

A gun fired and a man screamed.

"I'm sorry about that." The doctor said, "You should recover. I just can't let it happen."

Footsteps left the room and broke into a run.

For a few moments, Quote listened to the sound of a man growling in pain while another called for help.

Quote shut off the radio and lay in silence.

Another robot?

* * *

Arthur led the group through the tunnels.

They moved slowly and quietly, refraining from talking for fear of attracting the robots.

The once lively corridors had adopted a sinister quality.

"Arthur I'm scared…" Toroko whimpered.

"Shhh, It's gunna be okay." Arthur said to the little girl walking next to him.

They all kept their eyes open, on lookout for any sign of movement. Looking for any possible source of danger.

It was Toroko who spotted the prostrate Mimiga.

"Spade?" She squeaked before covering her mouth quickly from habit.

The other three spun around and looked at the Mimiga's brutalized form.

He was laying on the floor, half propped up against the wall of the tunnel.

"Mahin" Arthur said sadly, "Take Toroko away, don't let her look. Okay?"

Mahin nodded slowly then led the little girl away, distracting her from Spade.

The Mimiga's ears were both scorched. Much of his white fur was stained red and one of his arms seemed to be broken.

Suddenly Spade opened his eyes, causing Arthur and King to jump.

"Spade," Arthur began, "I'm so sorry that I left you behind. I, I should have-"

"Don't be sorry," Spade croaked, "I told you to. If you'd stayed they just would've gotten both of us."

The Mimiga coughed and a drop of blood flew from between his lips.

"You need to, to stop them" He said, "They'll destroy all of this, kill all of us, until they have what they want."

"What good can we do?" King asked.

"You can fight." Spade said.

"That didn't do you much good." King replied.

"I didn't go into that fight expecting to win." The Mimiga said, pausing to cough before continuing, "There were dozens of them and just one of me. But you will have something I didn't."

"What's that?" Arthur asked.

Spade smirked, "There's a weapon. In the labyrinth."

"The labyrinth?"

"Go back to my house in the village." Spade said, his voice starting to weaken. "In the safe, the combination is," Spade let out a slight chuckle, "Never thought I'd be telling this to you two of all people. It's 6-8-4-1. Everything you'll need should be in there."

Spade coughed again, this time the tremor wracked his body and seemed painful

"Don't let them down."

"We won't." Arthur and King said at the same time.

Suddenly a bullet whizzed between them.

The three of them turned to see several robots heading toward them, carrying weapons of all assortments.

Surprisingly, Spade climbed to feet and said, "Get outa here, I'll distract them."

"But they'll…" King muttered.

"I know," Spade said resolutely, "Here take my sword. Go fix this, I'm trusting you two."

Spade shoved the sword into Arthur's hand then gathered the last of his strength and ran toward the robots.

"I'm over here!" He screamed.

Bullets flew toward him but they missed and fell silent against the far wall.

"Come and get me!" Spade shouted at the robots before disappearing down an adjacent tunnel.

The robots began to follow him.

Arthur turned to the others and said quietly, "Let's let's get outa here." He took a deep breath then continued in a stronger voice, "We need to get back to the village. Let's go."

* * *

Miakid watched the monitor in front of him.

By pressing a button he switched between the perspectives of several of the robots.

As he combed through the visual reports, he saw that the tunnels seemed to be desolate, any resistance or danger that had once been there, was no longer.

Miakid pressed another button on the console and the static of a radio chirped to life.

"Prepare the helicopter, I'm going up."

"Yes sir."

Now was the time. After so much work, the time was finally here.

He would have the crown.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are we going, Mahin?" Toroko asked. She was still very scared, clinging to the rather large Mimiga's vest.

"Somewhere safe." He said in reply. To be honest, he didn't know where they were going to go. The Plantation and the Mimiga Village were not the best options... The Sand Zone was too infested with monsters...

"B-but..." Toroko was sniffling, starting to shake in her cowardice. "What if t-the monsters come back...?"

"They won't. Not if I can help it." Mahin growled. "Spade, King and Arthur will keep them away."

Toroko sniffed, tears falling from her already raw eyes.

Mahin stopped, looking at a crystal clear puddle of water up ahead, fed by droplets falling from the ceiling. "Toroko, are you thirsty?"

Toroko stared at the water, then cautiously walked up to it. She then put her paws in the cool liquid. It made her tense muscles relax. She cupped some in her paws and splashed it onto her tired face. The burning sensation on her eyes immediately was washed away.

Mahin sat beside the puddle, watching Toroko wash up. So much had happened... in so little time. The small splashes made his whirling mind calm down. For now, everything was good. Everything was fine...

The splashing had long since stopped, and Mahin opened his eyes to see Toroko was next to him, eyes closed. She must be exhausted... he thought, a small smile creasing his muzzle. Standing up, he picked the small Mimiga girl up, and continued his way down the cave, oblivious to the red glowing eyes glaring at them from behind...

* * *

Quote didn't notice that he had fallen asleep until he awoke. Opening his eyes groggily, he immediately snapped to attention and sat up straight. How long was he asleep? He could feel the cold dampness of his clothes from when he fell into the river earlier. He shuddered at the memory. Surrounded by darkness and the cold...

He shook the thought away and slowly found his footing; even though he fell a few times. Quote was now on his feet and walking down the new cave he had been in.

He was by now pondering on what that man had told him before he shut the communication off. Something about another robot like him on the island... he wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but...

He then remembered that blonde robot he had fought earlier... She was different, just like him. Perhaps...

His thoughts were interrupted when something small ran into his legs, making him stumble. In shock, Quote stepped back, and realized that the creature that ran into him was one of those white, fuzzy rabbit-like creatures...

He looked ahead, and saw three robots chasing after another one of the Mimiga. It was screeching for help, its arm already hurt and bleeding. The three robots each held a machine gun, shooting constantly at the poor thing.

Quote looked back down at the small Mimiga, who was cowarding behind a stalagmite. A burning anger growing inside him, he whipped out his own gun and shot at the robots, one of them instantly downing upon contact with the bullets.

The other two glared at him and rushed at him, readying their guns for the kill.

Quote himself rushed toward the Mimiga behind the rock, grabbing it and running toward the other one, who was on the ground, panting from the blood-loss. He grabbed it and ran as fast as his feet could take him, every now and then taking sharp turns, using the same maneuver as before to try losing the robots pursuing him. However, he could still hear the pounding footfalls of the others as he ran.

He looked up at a rock poking downward toward the floor. He noticed the cracks deep within and got an idea.

Pointing his gun up at the sharp-pointed rock, he began to shoot it to enlarge the cracks and perhaps make it fall between him and his followers. That's when he heard a loud CRACK!

Dashing off, Quote held the two Mimiga tight as the rock fell from the ceiling, and to his horror that the whole cave began to crumble. With wide eyes, he sprinted as fast as he could toward nothing in particular, just away from the crumbling area.

He could still tell he was being followed, due to seeing the piercing red eyes of his pursuers through the rocks that fell from the ceiling like rain. He blindly shot at them, all while running as fast as he could. The creatures he was carrying were both whimpering and shrieking in terror, burying their faces in his shirt.

Quote could see something up ahead. It looked like a human girl... holding two of those Mimiga... As he got closer, he soon recognized who it was.

That robot from earlier!

Her eyes were filled with confusion as he ran toward her, a wall of rock and gravel chasing him.

"W-what's going-?"

Quote didn't give her time to answer. He simply yelled one thing.

"RUN!"

Curly, who stared at the collapsing tunnel in horror, quickly turned and ran after him, doing her best to catch up. She noticed that the male robot was carrying two children Mimiga. Perhaps he was on their side as well? She was about to ask, but she saw him take a sharp turn to the right, and she instantly followed, making sure that the Mimiga she was holding were still in her arms.

The male robot was panting, pressing himself against the wall as the tunnel behind them collapsed entirely, blocking the entrance, and only leaving one way out of there: forward.

Curly stopped beside him, looking behind her as the entrance was now covered by rocks and gravel. She looked back up at him, and simply stared.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Curly looked down at the Mimiga she was holding, and back at him.

"Yeah."

He nodded. His eyes were filled with a slight mistrust as he glared at her. He wasn't sure whether to trust her or not...

Curly herself glared right back, stepping back a bit. "...We may as well know one another's names. I'm Curly Brace."

She could still sense the mistrust from the male robot. With a sigh, Curly let a small smile crease her lips.

"What's yours?"

* * *

"We have to hurry up, King..." Arthur murmured as the sounds of guns firing slowly faded away. He himself was terrified out of his wits. Spade was surely dead at this point. And that meant that he was to take charge of the Mimiga Village...

He honestly didn't know how he was going to do it. How was a mischievous Mimiga such as himself supposed to take charge of an entire village? It was an idea that he didn't like. He didn't like it at all.

King caught up to him, looking behind himself every couple moments. Everything was so peaceful, with no danger at all... then it all came crashing down within a couple hours! It was ridiculous! It was utterly disturbing!

"We have to get to his house, and find that safe!" Arthur said, gaining confidence as the village came into sight.

At least, what was left of it...

Arthur grimaced, not focusing on the scorched and bloodied bodies of Mimiga scattered across the area. He had to find Spade's home...

King, on the other hand, couldn't help but steal glances at the familiar villagers. He could barely recognize half of them, due to their fur stained scarlet and coated in grime... One of them even had its head severed from its body...

He felt sick. It was horrible. What could those robots want? Why were they killing everything? It made no sense... nothing made sense...

"We're here." Arthur said, making King jump out of his despair. Looking up, he saw the slightly older Mimiga slowly and cautiously open the door.

It didn't take them long to find the safe; it was beside the fireplace, with a dusty sign that said 'DON'T TOUCH!' in bold red letters stuck on it.

Taking off the note, Arthur entered the code; one number at a time.

"Six... eight... four... one... There!" Arthur felt a wave of satisfaction as the safe opened. There was a very peculiar object in it... It seemed like a communication device of some sort. It had antennae, and a small screen. After fumbling around with it for a minute, he managed to find the power button. The screen buzzed and crackled with static.

Arthur was a bit confused. This thing had to communicate something...

Spade said something about a weapon in the Labyrinth...

Perhaps this device was used to contact said weapon, or whomever controlled it?

During his thinking, he found a button that had "communicate" on it in small letters. He pushed it cautiously.

Both King and Arthur stared into the screen in pure curiosity as a picture soon came up. Bright green eyes, a whiskered snout, pointed ears, and a large, X-shaped scar running across its face.

The voice it had made both of the Mimiga jump in freight. It was almost like a deep growl.

"Who are you?! Why have you contacted Monster X?!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Who are you?! Why have you contacted Monster X!" the thing growled over the intercom.

Arthur felt a chill creep up his spine. It was huge, monstrous, terrifying.

"What do you want Mimiga!" the thing glared at him from the small screen.

"I, uh, there's robots." Arthur muttered, trying desperately to get his point across.

The thing was silent, just looking at him.

"We need you to get r-rid of them. To, uh, kill them."

The thing growled something unintelligible, then said angrily, "Fine, your wish is my command…"

Through the speaker, they heard a thunderous noise and the thing moved away from the camera. Within moments it was lost from view.

"Well, what do we do now?" King asked.

Arthur started to say, "I don't know," but a noise from outside the house made him go silent. King heard it too and his hair began to stand on end.

Footsteps, loud and metallic. They echoed around the cavern so that they could be heard even inside the house.

The robots, they had come back.

* * *

Curly walked through the tunnels, following the other robot. After some provocation he had revealed his name to be Quote, but had said nothing else. Around them was a crowd of four young Mimiga, struggling to stay close to the taller robots.

One of them had been injured, but Curly had quickly tended to the wound.

Around them the corridor seemed dark and foreboding. They both had their rifle lamps lit, but that was the only source of light.

As she walked, Curly saw Quote occasionally glance over at her. She could see suspicion in his eyes. He didn't trust her.

Of course, she didn't quite trust him, yet. They'd only just met, and she didn't want to put her life in the hands of a stranger. But as long as they were stuck together, they might as well watch each other's backs.

From up ahead Curly heard a shout and a scream. Then the sound of bullets bouncing off of stone.

Her gut twisted and she immediately began to run toward the noise. One of those heartless robots again, terrorizing the Mimiga.

Something slammed into Curly's legs, something light and soft. It bounced off and fell to the floor. Before Curly could investigate it, though, a robot appeared.

It was tall and thick, a heavy weapon gripped in both hands.

Curly raised her own gun and started to fire. Beside her Quote did the same.

They quickly defeated the robot, luckily without sustaining any real damage. It toppled and fell to the ground with a loud clang.

When silence returned, Curly found that there were two more of the creatures with them. One was young, small like the others. The second was larger, standing just past her waist.

Before Curly could try to say anything to them, though, the tunnels around them began to shake. From somewhere behind them, a ferocious rumbling sounded.

* * *

 _It moves through the tunnels, searching. All of its weapons are ready, ready to destroy. There had been orders, instructions. They would be carried out. There were robots on this island. They would be destroyed. Destroyed because of the orders. A noise came from somewhere up ahead and it advanced. Its weapons were charged and ready to destroy. A robot came into view. The smaller figure turned to attack it, but to no avail. Its weapons were far too great and the robot crumbled before its might. This was a victory, a small one though. Strength versus weakness. There could have been no other outcome. It moved on, moving past the ruined shell. Moving through the tunnels in search of more prey. Its weapons were charged and ready. Ready to find the next robot to be destroyed._

* * *

The helicopter flew through the air, carrying Miakid to his destination. That island that floated high in the sky. Deep inside there was supposed to be a treasure, a crown that gave power to the wearer.

With a sudden lurch, the helicopter landed. Miakid got up from his seat and left the aircraft. After stepping out onto the stony surface, he followed the trail of destruction.

Eventually he found himself in a large cavern.

Looking down, Miakid saw that the lower area showed signs of carnage and death. Broken bodies littered the floor and gave off the stink of decay.

Miakid smiled. He was so close now. All he had to do was take the crown. It would soon be his.

All his.

* * *

Quote ran through the stony corridor.

Behind him he could hear the monstrous thing racing through the tunnel behind him. Curly and the creatures, the Mimiga, were running around him.

He'd seen that thing briefly, and it was horrifying. With what seemed to be just a fraction of its true might, it had destroyed several robots.

If that thing caught up to them, Quote didn't want to think about what would happen.

So they ran through the dim tunnels as fast as they could. Quote was nearly blinded when he ran into the lit cavern, but he kept running.

Suddenly something pulled him aside and he fell. Quote felt himself being dragged across the uneven ground and he struggled to get himself free.

When he regained his awareness, Quote realized that Curly and the Mimiga were holding him down. He could hear the thing moving behind him.

Curly put a finger over her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

A series of explosions wracked the air, sending shockwaves that shook everything.

Then it all became silent. The thing was gone.

* * *

 _It leaves the cavern, leaving behind the broken bodies of destroyed robots. They are no longer a threat, not that they ever could be. They were weak, it is strong. It moves back to the tunnel, continuing the hunt. There will be more robots, more destruction, more war. In the distance it can feel a crowd. Many robots close together in a group. At the head of the pack is a single human. It moves in for the kill._

* * *

"I think it's gone." Arthur said, "That thing's gone."

The Mimiga got up and looked out the window. The village was empty of robots, and that giant thing was gone too.

But then Arthur saw something moving, walking out into the open area.

"King!" Arthur exclaimed, "Its Toroko."

The other Mimiga perked up and looked out through the window. "And Mahin, and Daisy, and some of the other kids." Then King gasped, "Arthur, there's a robot! Two of them."

"I know…" Arthur growled, watching angrily as the pair approached his baby sister.

Turning suddenly from the window, Arthur tore the sword from his back and ran for the door. Bolting out of the house and toward the group, he prepared to attack the robots. To do just as Spade had done. To protect the ones he loved, even if it meant laying down his life in the process.

"Mahin! They're behind you!" Arthur yelled, "Get outa the way! Get them away from here!"

Mahin seemed surprised at his presence and didn't respond for a moment, just staring at the advancing Mimiga.

Arthur dodged around the large Mimiga and jumped over the crowd of smaller ones. He had to defend them all, protect them from the monsters.

* * *

Miakid walked through the tunnel, surrounded by a multitude of robotic minions.

Looking down at his mobile radar system, he grinned. He was close now. The crown was nearby. Soon it would be his.

There had been no resistance since he arrived. No sign that anything lived in the tunnel system. The only movement came from his robots.

Then the ground began to shake violently.

"What's going on!" He demanded.

"Something is approaching," A nearby robot informed him, "Something big."

Miakid felt some fury build inside of him. Whatever this was, it had better not interfere with his plans. He had worked too hard to let the local wildlife derail him.

"Well take care of it." Miakid growled.

"Yes sir."

The robots began to prepare themselves for battle, readying their weapons and assuming combat formations.

The ground continued to rumble as the thing approached.

"Make it quick," Miakid muttered, "Don't want to waste too much time with this."

* * *

Quote watched as the Mimiga barreled toward him. It held a long sword in its hand and there was an enraged look in its eyes. Quote considered taking some action, but in the end he didn't have to.

The heavyset Mimiga who called himself Mahin lunged toward the newcomer and tackled him to the ground. The sword flew from his hands and skidded across the floor as the two of them came to rest in a pile.

"What are you doing Mahin!" the newcomer demanded.

"You don't have to do that." Mahin said patiently, though his breath seemed labored from the effort of more quick movement. He had nearly collapsed while running from that thing, and it seemed he was very close to his limit.

"They're not like the others," Mahin continued, but then he was silent.

"They saved us," said one of the younger ones.

The newcomer seemed calmer now, and Mahin got off of him. Another Mimiga ran up to the group, but having seen the former commotion he didn't try to attack the two robots.

After this, the group converged and began to talk. It seemed the Mimiga with the sword was named Arthur, and the other newcomer was King.

After a few moments of observation, Quote realized that Arthur was a leader among the three older Mimiga. While he didn't give orders or control the others in any other way, there seemed to be a weight to what he said and the others seemed to listen when he spoke.

What influenced Quotes opinion the most, though, was the fact the Arthur was the only Mimiga so far to outright attack a robot. All the others had tried to run or hide, but Arthur had taken up a weapon and held his ground.

Though he didn't say it, Quote began to respect the Mimiga.

* * *

In the relative peace, they regrouped and tried to make sense of the situation.

"Why are they here?" Arthur asked Curly, "Why are they doing this?"

"I don't know, "she said.

"They're looking for something." Quote said, "Some kind of crown. I don't know anything else."

"A crown?" Arthur said, "I've heard something about a crown. I don't know where, but it's, it's there somewhere."

Suddenly one of the young Mimiga stepped forward and began to talk, "Um, A-arthur, I know what i-it is."

Arthur turned toward the child and said, "What do you know, Wren?"

"It's an, um, an artifact. My dad told me about it, he showed it to me once."

"What!" Arthur exclaimed, "Do you know the way there? Can you take us?"

The young Mimiga nodded. "But Arthur? Before we go, where's my dad? He was with you earlier, but I haven't seen him since."

Arthur felt a pang of sadness stab into his heart.

"Spade is," Arthur began, his voice slow and feeble, "I, I don't know where he is. We got separated by the robots."

King and Mahin looked over at him with sadness in their eyes. They both knew the truth.

He just hoped they would understand his lie, because what else could he do. Just tell Wren that his father was dead? Arthur had the strength to do many things, but that wasn't one of them.

Wren nodded with a similar look of sadness. It was as if he knew, but how could he?

Then he began to lead them into a nearby tunnel, leading them to the crown his father had shown him.

Arthur hoped they weren't too late to stop whatever was happening before it was too late.

* * *

 _It shoots into the cavern and begins firing upon the mass of robots. Its weapons are strong andit easily destroys many out of the multitude. But suddenly a harsh sound comes from above and it feels the sky falling down. It attempts to retreat away from the cave-in but it is unsuccessful. The shower of cold hard stone comes raining down and damages it. The cave-in blocks off the robots' tunnel, protecting them from its wrath. But what wrath is that? Though the damage was not critical, one crucial component has been damaged irreparably. The transmitter that forced it to comply with the weak creature's will. It is gone, destroyed. It is free. Free to leave behind the servitude. Free to leave behind the tunnels and return to the labyrinth permanently._

 _It left behind the tunnels, and returned to the labyrinth, permanently…_


	6. Chapter 6

The ten of them ran down the tunnel, guided by the light of two flashlights and the torch that Arthur clutched in his empty hand. The other was wrapped tightly around the hilt of the sword he carried.

These tunnels seemed to go on forever, stretching down far past where Arthur had ever been. They entered caverns that were unknown to Arthur. None of the others recognized this place, except for Wren.

With steely eyed determination, the young Mimiga ran ahead of the pack, scouting out for the next turn, the next fork in the tunnel, the next thing that might slow them down.

The two robots, named Quote and Curly Brace, ran with seven Mimigas. That prospect still disturbed Arthur, but they seemed to be benevolent so far. Each of the others had explained how they had been saved by one of the two.

However, Arthur still kept an eye on the two, ready to protect his friends from any danger.

From up ahead, the absolute darkness began to glow with an amber hue. As they neared, the air began to grow hot as well, causing Arthur's fur to become soaked with sweat.

Still running, the group of them came into a cavern that was lit only by the great lake of lava below. Arthur could see the bubbles floating slowly up to the surface, popping and letting out a spray of molten shrapnel.

On the other side of the room, across a narrow bridge, Arthur could see a doorway. And through that doorway, he could see the crown. A golden decorated thing that was adorned with jewels of every size, shape, and color.

Arthur started to run out toward the crown, holding his sword at the ready. All he had to do was destroy this thing, then everyone would be safe. All he had to do was…

Something leapt out of the sea of lava, a molten shape that flew through the air in an arch and landed on the other side of the bridge.

"Mahin!" Arthur shouted, throwing down his torch, "Get the kids back into the tunnel!"

In the corner of his eye, Arthur could see the large Mimiga leading the horde of smaller ones back into the dark opening. He raised the sword, glaring down at the lava and sweeping his gaze across its molten surface. Whatever that thing was, it had to come again.

The surface swelled in one place, and then suddenly something leapt out. This time it didn't pass over the bridge, opting instead to land directly in the center of the hard stone. To Arthur's dismay, drops of lava that rolled off the monster bit holes and furrows into the bridge.

The thing glared at him, glowing red eyes digging deep into him. A jet black beak sat between the eyes, looking razor sharp and ready to destroy him. The thing was a giant bird, some eight feet tall. It let out a piercing screech and Arthur had to concentrate to keep from shrinking back or dropping his weapon to cover his ears.

Seeing that its attack had not disabled him as it evidently should have, the bird made a growling sound deep in its throat and charged toward him.

* * *

Quote watched as the bird charged Arthur, its beak wide open to show the blood red tongue and the coal colored teeth inside. Quote saw Arthur dart forward and jam his sword lengthwise in the creature's jaw. The blade got stuck between wicked looking teeth and Quote saw his chance. He fired down the thing's throat and watched the bullets sink into the deep black flesh.

No reaction came from the vulturous beast, as if his bullets had never existed.

Arthur struggled against the thing's weight and he slipped back beneath the weight of its jaws. Redoubling his effort, the Mimiga shoved the bird-thing back a step and then moved like a snake. In less than a second his blade had slipped out from between the harsh teeth and swung around.

The blade, which seemed to catch the burnished light of the lava below, bit into the creature's neck and dug in. A rift opened in the night-colored flesh and the whole body quivered. There was no blood, and no cry of pain, but suddenly the monster was dying. Like smoke fleeing into itself, the creature coalesced and shrank into a tiny point of darkness that was so deep and complete that for a moment it could've been a hole in the air itself.

Then even that was gone and they were alone in the cavern.

With sweat dripping from his fur and his breathes coming in ragged pants, Arthur turned halfway around and said in a calm, commanding voice, "Let's go. Everyone across the bridge. Let's finish this."

With that said, the Mimiga turned and broke into a run.

* * *

The ten of them ran into the domed room and found themselves staring up a flight of stone steps at the pedestal and its two frozen guards. Both were suspended in what could've been a massive, floating crystal. They seemed to be sleeping, or dead, or somewhere between.

"That's it…" King whispered, staring at the crown, "That must be it!"

Without a word, Arthur gathered himself and began to charge up the steps. The blade held out to one side, he seemed to be an angel of death and fury as he drove himself toward the crown.

Drove himself toward the object of his enemy's greed and the reason so many of his friends, family and neighbors had been killed.

The reason the few who remained were in grave danger.

Just up these steps, just thirty feet away…

He would end it all, right here and right now…

Arthur didn't feel the electricity entering his body. He didn't feel it as a punch, or as any type of physical contact. He knew it as something that travelled through his bones, singed his fur, and bit into his mind. It was something akin to the moment you dive into a pool. The exact moment you make contact, when you are passing between one world and the next.

For a fraction of a second, Arthur didn't exist in one world or another. He was just a floating embodiment of a frayed being. For a moment his mind froze and at the same moment, the world started to go faster.

A far away voice said slowly, sinisterly, "Now don't be so… _hasty_. I have to thank you for _valiantly_ clearing a way for me. It was most beneficial."

Arthur did his best to move, sent out the signals in earnest. Each of his limbs seemed to be a thousand miles away, a blind man working his marionette with numb hands. Arthur spasmed on the ground, struggling to get back to his feet.

"I must commend you in your perseverance, "the voice said, closer now.

Arthur could almost feel his fingers. The numbness was fading away now, being replaced by a dull pain. A pounding in his head, where it had struck the step. His fingers ached from their frantic grip on the blade.

"However…" the voice teased, "I know you all. You two," it paused, letting out a grim guffaw, "Traitors. And the rest of you are natives, who resisted me."

The voice paused ominously, giving Arthur a chance to twist his head around jerkily and catch a glimpse. A short man strode up through ranks of robots. Arthur could see Curly and Quote hiding behind a pillar. Mahin had disappeared along with the children and King was hiding behind a different pillar.

"You are all my enemies," the man said, a rabid grin on his face, "So you must die."

Only a moment later, the man said softly, with that same grin, "Kill them, kill them all…"

The robots lined up behind him opened fire. They didn't aim for Arthur, surprisingly. Maybe they had already decided he was dead, or that he was no longer a threat. As opposed to the two robots behind the pillar, he never had been. Taking turns, they swung themselves out and fired on the army before them.

Suddenly the man made a break for the stairs. Arthur watched him go and suddenly realized that he must be going for the crown.

Arthur did his best to move. His limbs still didn't quite work but he managed to climb unsteadily to his feet. His first few steps were lumbering leaps, which quickly tightened into a headlong sprint.

Throwing the blade down, Arthur threw his body into the man and knocked him to the ground. After a brief tumble down the stairs, Arthur came out on top and rammed a curled fist into the man's face.

* * *

Quote felt Curly press her back against his as she pulled back into cover. There was no thought in this. Dozens of robots, two of them. Nowhere to go, nowhere to run. They would win, or they would die. And it they died, then everyone would.

They couldn't afford to fail.

Quote swung himself out of cover for half of a moment, long enough to let loose a spray of bullets then immediately retreated. He knew he was safe when he pressed back against Curly.

There was no thought in this save for the one, he trusted Curly. He hadn't before, he hadn't truly trusted anyone, but he was sure of this. He trusted Curly, trusted her to have his back and to let him know when he was safe. To stop him from falling back into the storm of bullets, just as she trusted him.

For a moment they were both behind the pillar, leaning back against it and breathing the heavy breaths of panicked exhaustion.

"Curly," Quote said, shouted over the maelstrom.

"Yeah?" she shouted back, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"I trust you…" he said, "I just needed to let you know."

She looked over at him, studying him for a moment before saying, "I trust you too. Now let's get back out there."

They both swung out around the pillar and fired simultaneously, as a team.

* * *

Arthur felt himself being picked up by the much larger man. He threw the Mimiga down onto the steps and he lay there dazed for a moment. Arthur started to leap back up, but the cold metal barrel pressed firmly against his chest made him stay still.

"You thought… you could… beat me?" the man growled, a frenzied look on his face.

Arthur just stared up at the man, stared up at his bloodshot eyes and his snarling mouth.

"You thought you could stop… me? Miakid? A bunny-rabbit like you?" the man, Miakid, spat out a laugh, "You're nothing, nothing like me. You're weak, and I'm strong. And that's why you'll die, and I'll live. I'll take that crown, and I'll use its power."

The man leaned down close to Arthur and whispered coarsely, "And I'll use that power to destroy this place. Your home… Your friends… everything… Too bad you'll be too dead to watch."

Miakid pulled back, planted his foot on Arthur's chest, and pointed the gun at his face. Surely the man was peering over the top of the barrel to make sure it shot straight. Surely the robots fighting below had not disappeared completely. Surely _something_ existed besides that jet black barrel.

But that was all Arthur could see. Just the barrel and the hole in the middle where the bullet would be coming out. He'd come so close.

A strangled scream pulled Arthur back into focus. His eyes immediately flew to the length of sword blade sticking through Miakid's center. The steel was stained dark red and blood dripped readily from the tip.

The gun dropped from Miakid's shaking fingers, falling harmlessly to the ground.

It wasn't until Miakid half collapsed that Arthur saw King standing on the other side with a shocked expression on his face. His hands shook, though not as much as Miakid's bloodless fingers. Moving slowly, King reached down and pulled Arthur to his feet.

"Thanks," Arthur coughed out, still feeling where Miakid had pressed down with his foot.

"No problem," King choked out, his normal gravelly voice starting to return, "I was starting to feel kinda useless, sitting on the side like that."

"I'm glad you… wait!" Arthur choked out. Something was wrong. Miakid had been dying, but something suddenly struck him.

The body had never hit the ground.

Arthur spun around just in time to see Miakid's violently shaking hands clasp around the crown. His pale face was cut in half by that devilish grin and his laughter began to pour out.

As Arthut watched, the sword was pulled from the man's back as if by a pair of invisible hands and discarded. Then the visible wound began to heal.

Panic stabbed through Arthur and he leapt forward, a scream on his lips. Arthur's hands closed around the crown, gripping the cold metal tightly.

Something seemed to shift and Arthur could feel everything differently. His mind was… bigger. And there was something else there. Something massive, just as massive as him. Something wrong.

* * *

Quote slipped back behind cover, just barely avoiding a spray of bullets. He leaned back, expecting to feel the reassuring presence of Curly standing there, but instead Quote had to catch himself before falling out the other side.

Quote neglected to watch the enemies, instead spinning around to check on Curly.

There she was, lying flat on the ground, a blood slowly leaking through a hole in her shoulder. It had made a small, darkly colored pool that seemed to have slowed in spreading.

Time slowed and Quote thought his heart might explode, looking down at her like that. Surely she was alive, she had to be alive.

Quote disregarded the bullets grabbed Curly, pulling her back behind the pillar.

His heart was racing as he looked down at her. She could've been sleeping.

"Wake up," Quote shouted, though it sounded soft in his ears.

Before long he was pleading, ignoring the bullets and robots together.

* * *

Arthur shoved himself against that wrongness. The thing pushed against him at the same time and they began fighting for control. There was something inside of his head, something that wasn't him. However, Arthur began to realize that he was simultaneously pushing himself into a mind that wasn't his own.

That something began to fill up his head, squeezing his soul like a pimple. Something had to give. Something had to give…

One of Arthur's eyes flicked open and he caught sight of Toroko. She was gathered around Mahin along with the other children. His eye flicked to the robots, Quote and Curly. As far as he could tell, Curly was dead, and Quote was screaming something. The army of robots seemed to be just moments away from realizing their enemy's weakness, and just another fraction of a second from exploiting it and destroying the two.

Finally he saw King, standing just a few feet away with his the blade in his hands. He didn't understand all the power flowing between Arthur, Miakid, and the crown. He didn't understand that the sword in his hands would be less than useless if Miakid won.

But something clicked inside Arthur and he knew he couldn't lose. He couldn't lose because of Toroko, standing wide eyed and frightened. He couldn't lose because of Mahin, the harmless Mimiga who would no doubt do anything he could to save the children. He couldn't lose because of the two robots who faced the odds for him and were losing. He couldn't lose because of Wren, who still didn't know the truth about his father.

He couldn't lose because of King, standing there, waiting to lay himself down to protect the rest.

Arthur couldn't lose because losing would mean failing all of them, and that was something he just couldn't do. He _wouldn't_ do it.

With a surge of determination that burned like the sun, Arthur shoved back against that wrong thing and crushed it. He pressed it and pressed it until it had been pressed deep within its hole, then he pressed father. He surrounded the tiny speck that remained of the wrongness and he squashed it. He stomped it down and tore it from existence.

Arthur opened his eyes and watched Miakid turn to ash. The shocked look on his face was suddenly made from soft black dust.

A faint breeze stirred and the ashen sculpture collapsed upon itself and into a pile.

Still feeling the power of the crown surging through him, Arthur turned to face the robots. Among the legion there were a few that were down, but dozens more had sustained no damage at all.

Arthur was about to change that.

A surge of power slipped through the crown and Arthur directed it. Suddenly a section of the ceiling gave away, falling down and crushing more than a dozen robots. After that, Arthur drew an explosion of the air and destroyed another dozen robots. A crack had begun to open in the floor, and Arthur helped it along. The floor exploded and dozens of robots fell to their dooms, while others were irreparably wrecked by flying shrapnel.

However, there were many more robots, and Arthur had enough power to destroy them all without breaking a sweat. He could do anything. The crown promised him things that he had never imagined possible. But he was immortal, omnipotent.

He could do anything as long as he had the crown.

* * *

Quote fumbled with the cables, flinching every time an explosion went off.

He had to save Curly, and at this point he could only think of one way to do that. Moving quickly, Quote pulled out the bolt from the left side of her neck and attached the cable, then did the same with the right.

Something happened, something loud, but Quote did his best to ignore it. He'd seen Arthur take control of the crown, and he'd been able to guess where the suddenly beneficial catastrophes were coming from.

Quote pulled out the left and right bolts which were embedded in his own neck and attached the other ends of the cables. He suddenly felt his life leaving him as the cables were attached. Quote's eyes were suddenly heavier, his breaths tougher to bring in and push out.

But it was worth it to see Curly's eyes flutter slightly and her chest start to rise and fall once more. Curly was alive. Quote had patched the wound to the best of his abilities, and now all it would take was time to heal.

Quote removed the cables and leaned back against the pillar, listening to the sound of Arthur destroying the robots. He was so tired, he just needed to… rest his… eyes…

* * *

Arthur saw a robot and he destroyed it. One was sunk into the floor, while another simply burst into a shower of sparks and circuitry. Another was crushed beneath a boulder which was torn from the ceiling.

 _Destroy_ , it whispered, _Destroy it all…_

Arthur saw another robot and he lit it aflame with fire hot enough to burn on plane metal. Another robot simply melted where it stood. One of the robots raised its gun to fire on Arthur, but without thinking he crushed the thing into a ball of tin.

 _Kill_ , it whispered hoarsely in side of his head, _Break, burn, pain, burn, hate, destroy… Destroy them all!_

Arthur destroyed the robots, ripping them apart, tearing them apart, rending them in two, taking their heads from their bodies, pulling limbs each in a different direction. Bursting them, popping them, stomping them flat, freezing them then shattering those crystalline sculptures.

It laughed, inside of his head, it laughed. The crown felt heavy on Arthur's brow. It laughed, but not at him. Not with him either. It just laughed. The chaos and destruction seemed to please it.

Arthur's eyes fell onto a pair of robots. He knew they were robots, though any unenlightened eye would mistake them for humans. Preparing to destroy the pair, something nagged at Arthur. A memory, a faint memory. A memory of a memory, then even fainter still.

Arthur remembered those two robots and something snapped. His hands flew up to his head and tore it off. The moment off separation seemed to last longer than any other and Arthur could still feel its slippery fingers in his mind.

He threw the crown haphazardly at the pedestal and ran to Quote and Curly. They both seemed to be sleeping, and they were drowsy when Arthur tried to wake them.

"King!" Arthur shouted, "Come help me with them. Mahin! Take the kids and get out of here."

King ran over to Arthur and together they lifted the pair of robots. After they had walked a few steps, Curly seemed capable of supporting herself and she walked on her own, casting worried glances over at Quote.

As Mahin and the children ran toward the exit, something seemed strange to Arthur's eyes and he called out to them. They stopped suddenly and looked at him wonderingly.

Suddenly the entrance to the dome shaped cavern collapsed and came down in a grating rumble.

"What do we do now!?" Mahin squealed, causing the children to follow his lead.

"Quiet!" Arthur barked, "I need to think… find a way out of here…"

At first it seemed that Arthur had all the time he needed, and it seemed that he was making good time because within ten minutes he had found a teleporter. However, the machine was utterly without power and might not even work then.

Time was suddenly counted when Lava began to bubble up through the many cracks in the floor.

This left Quote exhausted and resting with Curly doing her best to tend to him. Mahin was trying to calm down the children without bothering to hide the bleak terror on his face. That left Arthur and King to find the way out, to find the answer to this riddle, the last piece to the puzzle.

They had a teleporter, but no power. He had several ideas of what to do, but they all relied on the time they didn't have. The lava was here, and soon enough they wouldn't. Whether by the lava's hand or the teleporter's.

"It just needs power," Arthur found himself murmuring, pacing back and forth near the robots, "Not a lot, just some. Where can I get power…?"

Suddenly Quote's head perked up and he looked tiredly at the Mimiga.

"Go get in the teleporter, I can get it power. "

At first Arthur thought he meant by harvesting the downed robots, but then he watched the last one be swallowed by the rising lake of lava. But Quote seemed nonplussed as he stumbled toward the teleporter. Curly came with him, trying to help him stand. Finally they reached the teleporter with all the Mimigas watching them curiously.

Quote popped open the back of the teleporter and pulled out a pair of jumper cables.

His intentions suddenly became too clear to Arthur. "You'll kill yourself," he said, astonished, "There's no way you still have enough power."

Quote shook his head with a tiredly sly grin. "No, you're right. But if you run it on manual, with minimal additional programs, I might be able to handle it."

"Me too," Curly said, supporting him, "I'm not going to let you just die."

Quote looked at Arthur in such a way that said he _expected_ to die. But not Curly.

Arthur shrugged, seeing no way out of it.

Quote grumbled then went about hook himself and, begrudgingly, Curly into the machine's power source. Quote worked with the dimly lit screen and set up the settings.

"There's no… coordinate specifications," Quote said, "If you don't all get in there, you'll get split up for sure."

At his advice, all of the Mimiga managed to pack themselves , rather uncomfortably, into the telporation chamber. After that, Arthur and Quote maintained a moment of eye contact, an unspoken thanks, and a silent dismissal, then Quote pressed the button and they disappeared.

* * *

The eight of them tumbled out of midair and into a pile on a plain of soft grass.

"Grasslands, huh?" King moaned, lying on the grass. At least they were alive. Beside him was Arthur, staring blankly up at the far off roof of the cavern.

"You think we'll ever see them again?" King asked his friend.

Arthur turned his head tiredly to look at King and saw in a voice much too old for the youthful body, "No, I don't think we'll ever meet them again. But there's no time for that. There's rebuilding to be done, reuniting, and moving on. We can't waste time worrying about things that _were_. Either they are or they're not, and was is a kind of not."

King looked at his friend sadly, seeing the emotion reflected in Arthur's eyes.

"But I'll tell you what _is_. Us, the Mimiga, the town, the island. We have to fix this, and we don't have any time to waste with mourning or regrets. Now let's go."

Arthur climbed to his feet and walked away, toward where he knew the teleporter was, leaving the others to gather themselves and follow after him if they so wished.

* * *

Curly and Quote leaned against the teleporter, watching the lava slowly advance on them. There was little more than their island that remained.

"Curly," Quote said, trying hard to hide his utter mind-crushing exhaustion, "I think I can get us out of here. I might be able to use the batteries from our rifle-lamps to power the teleporter. I think I could get it back on automatic, even."

"Really?" she said, looking between him, the encroaching lava, and the teleporter.

"Yeah," he said, "just had over your flashlight and get in the teleportation chamber. Once I get it working I'll join you."

Curly nodded and went over to the chamber.

Once she had entered, Quote dropped the rifle-lamp and pressed a button. The doors to the chamber slid shut, trapping Curly inside.

"Hey!" she shouted, "What do you think you're doing!?"

Quote kept silent as he hooked himself back into the machine. Looking over at Curly, he saw the realization dawn on her face, but it was too late.

"Quote!" she shouted, banging on the chamber wall, "No! Don't! Let me out!"

"No Curly," he said simply, then he pressed the button. Quote felt the electrical drain manifest itself as physical exhaustion and he collapsed even as Curly faded away in a flash of light. The last clear thing he saw was the image of her staring down at him, tears in her eyes.

His vision was blurry as he sat there with his back against the machine. For a while, he imagined he had his back against Curly's but it was too much a lie. Too impossible for him to find any comfort in it.

From his place against the teleporter, Quote watched as the blurry lava approached by the inch. He had unplugged himself from the machine, and once it lost him as a power source it died.

That was why Quote was surprised when the machine behind him began humming. His mind was blurry from exhaustion and he could hardly decide what a humming machine meant.

 _I couldn't just let you die? Now could I?_

Quote felt something touch him, something lift him up and carry him a few feet to the teleportation chamber. That something set him down, lightly and backed away.

Quote looked up at the something and was slightly astonished to see a ghostly dog looking down at him. Big black eyes were a contrast to the snowy white coat. Or it could've been ghostly white.

 _You will help my master someday, and I could not allow his savior to die. Please, when the time comes and the chance presents itself, save him…_

Quote considered saying something, but his lips didn't seem to want to move fast enough.

The white light enveloped him. While he sat there, blinded by the brightness, Quote began to realize just how tired he was.

As he smacked down on hard stone, Quote decided that he could sleep for ten years. He was so tired that sleeping _forever_ might not be out of the question, but ten years absolutely wasn't.

"Hello," the man said, his static muffled voice the only sound in the complete darkness.

"Hello," Quote gurgled out, feeling his exhaustion with every movement of his lips.

"Did you meet up with Curly Brace? Did you defeat Miakid?"

"Yes, Mimiga… safe…" Quote forced out.

"What about Miakid? The crown? What happened?" the man asked.

"Miakid is dead," Quote forced out through already numbing lips, "His robots are… destroyed. The crown is gone. Every… thing is… safe." Quote could feel himself slipping away, his body growing colder and farther away from him.

The darkness was pressing in, threatening to smother him if he did not sleep soon.

Quote slept for… a while.


End file.
